Daily Buzz: Ask for Member Input to Avoid Backlash

Online communities are a place for members to connect and interact with your association. And like social media and other gathering places, digital or otherwise, they often come with certain participant expectations. When those expectations aren’t met—or changed without member input—organizations are bound to face a lot of backlash.

Take it from YouTube. The video platform announced a new approach to its verification process, which was met with an onslaught of public dissatisfaction. Instead of having any channel with more than 100,000 subscribers apply for verification status, the idea was that YouTube would verify well-known creators, public figures, and famous brands on its own.

“The stated goal of the changes was to make it clear that verification isn’t an endorsement from YouTube, but simply a statement that the creator really is who they claim to be,” says Anthony Ha on TechCrunch  (opens in a new tab). “This distinction became increasingly important as YouTube faced criticism for allowing the spread of hate speech and misinformation, with executives then defending the service as an open platform.”

The process stripped numerous creators’ verification, including some with millions of subscribers. You can imagine the backlash.

Less than 24 hours later, CEO Susan Wojcicki tweeted about the reaction and assured creators a more satisfactory update was in the works.

“To our creators and users—I’m sorry for the frustration and hurt that we caused with our new approach to verification,” Wojcicki said  (opens in a new tab). “While trying to make improvements, we missed the mark. As I write this, we’re working to address your concerns and we’ll have more updates soon.”

Since then, YouTube has amended the verification process so that verified channels can keep their status, and channels with more than 100,000 subscribers will still be able to apply for verification. In other words, the platform reinstated those well-established community guidelines that caused backlash in the first place.

The Health Benefits of Active Cultures

New post: A healthy organization contains active cultures #eventprofs  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) #culture  (opens in a new tab) #management  (opens in a new tab) #work  (opens in a new tab) https://t.co/7OmnkPU8xE  (opens in a new tab) pic.twitter.com/QLXz1CsVMA  (opens in a new tab)

— Adrian Segar (@ASegar) September 23, 2019  (opens in a new tab)

“Just as there are hundreds of different strains of probiotic cultures, there are many ways to think about organizational culture,” writes meetings designer and facilitator Adrian Segar on Conferences That Work  (opens in a new tab). And, just like yogurt, Segar says organizations should cultivate active cultures.

“In passive cultures, needs go unmet, the culture discourages questioning beliefs and attitudes, and a ‘we’ve always done it this way’ attitude predominates,” he says. “An active organizational culture … has the environment and tools for changing interaction patterns, making the organization healthier in the process.”

Other Links of Note

Public speaking can be scary. MemberClicks says you can overcome the fear with these reminders  (opens in a new tab).

Shine bright at your next launch event with inspiration from Samsung Unpacked. Event Marketer covered the function  (opens in a new tab).

Is your workplace stressing you out? Beth’s Blog identifies common stress triggers and how to address them  (opens in a new tab).

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